Category Archives: Featured

“Magic Mike” reveals more than just hard bodies and party lifestyle

Tito (Adam Rodríguez), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Adam the Kid (Alex Pettyfer), Dallas (Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Channing Tatum), Tarzan (Kevin Nash) and Ken (Matt Bomer) offer a unique salute in “Magic Mike” (photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)

If it seems like Channing Tatum was made for the role of Mike Lane in Magic Mike, it’s because he was. Before he was the charmingly chiseled star of chick flicks, dramas, comedies and action movies, he spent some time on the stage of a Tampa strip club. And since this ultimate girls-night-out indulgence is about an exotic dancer starring in a male revue at a Tampa strip club, this truly is the role Tatum was meant to play (mostly because he already has).

But as is the case with most strippers (male or female), dancing is just a means to an end for Mike, who hopes to utilize his talents as a furniture designer to get out of the club world before it’s too late (and before he’s too old). And when he meets Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a good-looking kid struggling to secure an income while freeloading off his sister (Cody Horn), it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Adam replaces Mike (already in his 30s, which is ancient in this world) as the star of the show. It looks like one big cheesy cliché, and it is in many ways. But somehow it’s not as gratuitous as it seems, with intriguing characters and plot that have depth while remaining superficial enough for those looking for a bachelorette party without needing a stack of ones.

Mike (Tatum), Brooke (Cody Horn) and Joanna (Olivia Munn) have an awkward moment in “Magic Mike” (photo by Claudette Barius)

What I didn’t realize before seeing Magic Mike is that it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh, who previously worked with Tatum on 2011’s Haywire (read my review here). And just as he’s done with the Ocean’s Eleven series, Traffic and other films, he handles this ensemble cast (Matthew McConaughey, Matt Borner, Joe Manganiello, Gabriel Iglesias, Adam Rodríguez, Kevin Nash) rather adeptly. But given the subject matter, Magic Mike strikes a balance between comedic ridiculousness and the grim realities of a man who works odd jobs by day, but whose professional life (and social/sexual escapades) revolves around a dangerous and empty lifestyle.

That being said, Magic Mike never falls into the typical stripper movie trappings of getting too depressing. Sure, Adam (usually referred to simply as “The Kid”) gets caught up in the lifestyle while also becoming the favorite of Dallas (McConaughey), the former dancer now running the show. And while Mike’s charm allows him to work such magic as the occasional threesome with his regular booty call (Olivia Munn) and working roomfuls of horny women into a frenzy, he struggles to maintain any meaningful relationships or achieve his real creative passion. But we’re still talking about male strippers here, so even if seeing a guy shave his legs for the first time and put on a patriotic thong wasn’t funny enough on its own, Soderbergh and his cast deliver such scenes with enough lighthearted comic relief to counter the otherwise depressing reality of it all.

Kevin Nash as Tarzan in “Magic Mike” (photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)

Not that most people will be paying much attention to him, but Nash‘s performance here is about as good as his last few in-ring showings (which is to say that he has a hard time keeping up with the moves of the much younger and more athletic guys around him). But given his character Tarzan’s obvious age difference and his predisposition for an occasional overindulgence, Tarzan’s tear-away pants fit Nash pretty well. And as the layers are gradually peeled off the nervous chemistry between Tatum and Horn, we see that opposites really do sometimes attract, especially when they realize they actually have similar interests (and not just a love for breakfast food). So don’t let Magic Mike‘s outer appearance fool you; once you see what’s underneath it’s a lot more than just hard bodies and fast living.

Magic Mike. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey and Cody Horn. Rated R. magicmikemovie.warnerbros.com.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes NWA Elite’s Jerry Palmer and Barber Shop Window’s Ken Tuccio

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This week’s episode of Georgia Wrestling Now was an exciting one. First, Wrestling with Pop Culture, “The Human Hand Grenade” dany only and Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins talked to former NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer, whose shocking alliance with the NWA Elite finds him battling for control of the company this Saturday at Hostile Environment. We also heard from Barber Shop Window‘s Ken Tuccio.

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“Brave” courageously goes where Disney and Pixar haven’t really gone before

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Disney has obviously built its kingdom on recreating ancient folk tales that center around the animated adventures of various mythical princesses. Pixar, however, usually sticks to more contemporary computer animated tales about creatures in the toy box, in the closet or under the sea. With Brave, the two combine their talents for a visually magnificent CGI fairy tale filled with somewhat subversive adult humor and a moral that’s more empowering than the typical Disney damsel in distress.

Merida (Kelly Macdonald) follows a will o' the wisp to her new fate in "Brave"

Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) is a defiant young princess who would rather explore her Scottish Highland surroundings with her trusty bow and arrow than be the prim and proper lady Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) wants her to be. Her father, King Fergus (Billy Connolly), finds Merida’s defiance endearing, and her trouble-making triplet siblings appreciate that she sneaks them fresh-baked sweets under the dinner table. But when her parents invite three suitors to compete for Merida’s companionship, the young princess flees into the woods, only to have will o’ the wisps (small blue fairy flames known for leading people to new fates, not the masked character once portrayed by Jeff Hardy) direct her to a mysterious cottage occupied by a strange old woman (Julie Walters) who carves things (mostly bears) out of wood.

The triplets have a sweet tooth, which means trouble when there's a pastry with a spell on it lying around

Preying on Merida’s apparent adolescent frustrations towards the queen, the old woman offers Merida a pastry that will “change” the queen after she consumes it. But the change that takes place isn’t quite what Merida had in mind and she soon finds herself hiding in the woods with the bear that used to be her mom. To make things worse, Fergus is highly regarded for his conquests over ferocious bears and has an innate desire to add more to his taxidermy collection. And don’t forget about the triplets and their collective sweet tooth.

All Merida asked for was to change her fate, and she soon realizes she should have been a little more specific about that before making a deal with a witch in the woods. But as this red-haired beauty and her beast of a mother try to figure out how to undo this spell, they not only have to comically evade the bear-hungry king, they also learn a lot about themselves and each other. But the queen is becoming more and more like a bear and less and less like her human self as time goes on, so they must hurry before the curse becomes permanent.

While the girls are away, the three potential suitors have created chaos back at home, and the king seems to be reveling in it. But at the urging of her mother (who’s transformation has given her a fresh perspective and a change of heart), Merida brings order back to the castle by breaking tradition and introducing the novel idea that people should have free will when it comes to marriage rather than going along with arranged romances. But before we see a happily ever after, there just has to be a big bear battle. And it’s a good one as the very same bear responsible for the king’s peg leg shows up and Merida’s mommy bear takes on the challenge.

Mama bear saves Merida from the mean bear in "Brave"

Brave showcases the courage of women (and men) who stand up for what they believe in, while also teaching lessons about how to do that without harming those around them. It’s when that balance is struck that the fairy tale ending can truly happen. But the real star of this movie is Pixar, whose work here is unlike anything that’s been seen in the studio’s previous movies. From Merida’s realistic red hair to the rain cascading down the castle’s stone walls to astonishing aerial views of Scottish landscapes, the animation in Brave blends surrealistic caricatures with eerily realistic elements for visual magic unlike anything Disney has done before. And it’s these visual and thematic progressions that make this otherwise traditional Disney tale an eye-opening new adventure.

Brave. Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell. Starring Kelly Macdonald, Emme Thompson and Billy McConnolly. Rated PG. www.disney.com/brave.

Eye Empire strikes back with an “Impact”

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Although today’s release of it’s debut album Impact might indicate that Eye Empire is a new band, the heavy metal heritage of its members says otherwise. Anchored by former Dark New Day bandmates Corey Lowery (also of Stuck Mojo and Stereomud) and B.C. Kochmit, the band also features former Submersed singer Donald Carpenter and former Texas Hippie Coalition drummer Ryan Bennett. Together, these four musicians (and occasionally some of their friends) now proudly wave the Eye Empire flag as they continue the next chapter of their collective hard rock journey. As the band continues its tour, leading into summer support dates with Nonpoint and Seether, Carpenter takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about the empowering imagery and themes on the two-disc Impact release, the band’s formation and more.

Front man Donald Carpenter (second from left) makes an "Impact" with Eye Empire (photo by Angela Villand)

Eye Empire’s debut album Impact is out today. How does this release compare to the independently released Moment of Impact?

There are some tracks that have been released on a limited basis on some collector’s issues that we’ve put out independently so far. Some of those songs did make the final version of the album. The first 1,000 we printed were hand signed and hand numbered. We did that so each CD would be unique and once those sold out after the first month and a half, we decided to do a second run of 1,001-2,000 where we changed the artw0rk and actually included some photos of anybody who bought the first album in the artwork. We changed out three songs on each of those collector’s issues, so the track listing varied a little bit and there were some new songs on the second thousand. It’s been a way for us to promote our band and give our fans from the beginning something to give them patience as we build this behind the scenes. In the end, it makes it kind of unique with the collector’s discs because there’s only a few of them out there.

The completed album is a two-disc album. What all is included on that?

The cool thing about it is it’s kind of the culmination of everybody’s faith, love, respect and support from these first three years. Each little CD and each little word-of-mouth thing that’s come along has helped build to this disc, and that’s turned into 19 studio tracks, three acoustic versions and two live recordings. So five of the new tracks are actually like bonus material.

The CD cover and other imagery are interesting, with this very unifying flag and whatnot. What was the inspiration behind Impact‘s aesthetic?

The concept is that we want our fanbase to have an identity. We realize what our place is in this, and I think that’s kind of understood from the beginning with everybody involved. I don’t think music’s about inflating the ego of the band, I think it’s about bringing the fans up to our level. We wanted our fanbase to have an identity and we found that identity within the Empire itself. We wanted to keep it simple and clean and put out the colors. Those are our colors, that’s our flag, that’s what represents our fanbase and represents us as a band.

The title Impact is about what we want our music to be about, and that’s about making an impact. It’s about writing music we can relate to and find refuge in, but it’s also about empowerment and giving the fans an identity.

Eye Empire features former members of Stuck Mojo, Dark New Day, Submersed and other bands, and you’ve worked with some of the guys from Sevendust. How did you all come together to create this band?

All of that helped us have some familiarity with each other. We were always about one degree of separation apart and we went through our little experiences and all of those led to Empire. For whatever reason, Dark New Day came to an end around the time that Submersed came to an end for me and Switched came to an end for Brad [Kochmit]. It took them a few years to find me, but those guys worked together for three or four years and put together some music and were searching for the voice. So three years ago on Halloween I came in and got involved. We feel like all of that was for this and it was all the experience and growth we needed to get to this point.

Lajon Witherspoon and Morgan Rose from Sevendust also contributed to this album. How did they get involved?

Well, Corey’s brother is Clint, who is the founding guitarist for Sevendust. Corey grew up very close to all of those guys. Morgan and Lajon live in Atlanta, which is where Corey’s studio is based. When Corey and Brad got together and started jamming on some of their early music, they needed someone to fill in on the drum set. Morgan happened to be off the road at that time and he enjoys playing music, so he sat in and jammed a little bit. When we started to record the first part of the record, it only felt natural for him to come in and complete the process on some of those early song. LJ was one of those situations where the brotherhood was growing and he’s been somebody I’ve respected for a long time coming up as a vocalist. We were in the studio working together on some other things and the opportunity came up, so we had fun with it. It’s kind of a cool way to show how carefree the process is. We’re really just a lot of people who have a lot of respect for each other and we have a lot of friends that we respect a lot who have high abilities and we thought it would be fun to make a record we could all enjoy.

You guys have done a lot of touring recently and will be on the road a lot this summer. What do you have planned for the shows you have coming up?

Yeah, we’ve been touring for about ten months playing some headlining dates. We went out with Mushroomhead, Wayne Static and Sevendust last year. We’ve played some shows with Volbeat and Five Finger Death Punch over the last few months. On July 28 we’re playing Band Camp in Madison, Wisconsin, then we hit the road with Nonpoint and Call Me No One for about six weeks before we head out with Seether, Sick Puppies and Kyng, which we’re all friends with so we’re excited about that.

I don’t think I’ve had a chance to see Eye Empire live yet, so…

I can promise you one thing; if you did you would know. It’s all about energy. Like I said, it’s about bringing the fans up to our plane. Sometimes we feel a little insignificant out there and it’s about inflating the ego of the rock star. But for us it couldn’t be any more opposite. It’s about us coming out there and celebrating the fans being present, bringing their energy and being such an integral part of keeping music alive. That’s what it is; it’s a celebration of the fans and our love for music.

For more information, go to www.eyeempire.com.

Georgia Wrestling Now welcomes PCW’s Stephen Platinum and Montez/the Curry Kidd

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There’s never a dull moment on Georgia Wrestling Now, especially with a lineup of guests like we had this week. Listen in as Team All You Can Eat’s Matt Hankins, “The Human Hand Grenade” dany only and Wrestling with Pop Culture find out about the big shows Platinum Championship Wrestling‘s Stephen Platinum has planned over the next few weeks. We also heard from Empire Wrestling’s Montez, who had an interesting revelation about the man competing under the Curry Kidd mask this Saturday at NWA Action‘s Bash at the Bridge. Jon Williams from the Washington Bullets sat in as guest co-host, only recapped his intense weekend at Resistance Pro and Beyond Wrestling and The Jagged Edge once again interrupted the show.

Though we thought the Curry Kidd and Montez were the same person, the bitter host of The Montez Zone (TMZ) says he's no longer the man under the colorful mask. (photo by Jason Ventura)

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Volbeat answers “A Warrior’s Call” on summer tour

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It’s been more than a year since Danish band Volbeat released its fourth album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven. And since then the single “A Warrior’s Call” has become an anthem for fighters and wrestlers, as well as rock fans looking for something to pump their fists to. Written specifically for Danish boxer Mikkel Kessler, “A Warrior’s Call” is just one of several songs that blend the punk rock stylings of the Misfits and the rockabilly swagger of Johnny Cash and Social Distortion with thrash metal riffs and hardcore sing-alongs. After touring with Metallica, then opening for Megadeth, Motörhead and Lacuna Coil on the Gigantour earlier this year, the band set out on a United States festival tour for most of last month. As Volbeat prepares for a summer headlining tour of North America with support from Hellyeah and Iced Earth beginning June 18, drummer Jon Larsen takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about “A Warrior’s Call,” album themes and the band’s creative process.

This album has been your most successful one yet, at least here in North America. That’s largely because of the first single “A Warrior’s Call,” which is about a boxer. Did you know a lot of independent wrestlers also use that as their entrance music?

We are quite familiar with those stories, actually. We also know there is a hockey team, maybe, that is using it. It seems like a lot of people in the world of sports have really picked up on that song and use it as an intro song or whatever, which is kind of amusing and fun for us. The song was written specifically for a Danish boxer and that’s basically what it was. He had been using one of our older songs from the Guitar Gangsters album for his intro when he walked into the ring. We got to know him and kind of just said, “Why don’t you have some decent music when you enter the arena?” And he said, “Well, why don’t you write a song for me?” So that’s what Michael [Poulsen, singer/guitarist] did. He said, “Sure. That’s a challenge. I’ll do that.” So it was written specifically for him, but it’s interesting that a lot of independent wrestlers, hockey teams, soccer teams or whatever started to use that song. But, hey, it’s all good. We aren’t complaining.

Beyond Heaven/Above Heaven picks up thematically where Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood left off. For those who are just discovering Volbeat through the newer album, what is the connection between these two albums?

Some of the songs on the Guitar Gangsters album were combined into a story. I’m not really that familiar with the story either. I know that Michael got the idea after watching an old gangster movie on TCM and didn’t finish the movie because he was doing something else. So he started wondering what actually happened during that movie, what happened to that guy. So that’s where he picked up the story and made it into his own story. There were seven songs on the Guitar Gangsters album that were combined into this story and on the new album there are three or four songs that continue the story.

He obviously writes the lyrics and comes up with the overall concepts, but how much input do you have as the drummer when it comes to writing songs and albums?

It varies from time to time. Sometimes Michael will have a full song ready when we meet up in the rehearsal room and he will say, “Try to play like this” or “Try to do something like this.” Sometimes he doesn’t really have anything and we just start fooling around with a riff and all of a sudden it’s like, “Whoops! We’ve got something there.” Then he goes home and continues working on that. Of course, we all throw in any ideas we have and if he can use them, he will. But if it’s too stupid, he won’t use it. Most of the time, he and I will meet up at the rehearsal room before the other guys show up and start just pounding out ideas and riffs and beats and whatever and see what we can come up with.

You recently finished a string of festival shows and now you’re heading out on your own headlining tour. How will the shows on this tour compare to the festival shows you’ve been playing?

We just did 15 festivals and seven headlining shows. A festival is what a festival is and headlining shows are actually sometimes more fun because we’re in better control of everything. On this run we’ll be hitting some shows on the West Coast, which we did not on the last run. We’re going back to Canada, doing some shows on the West Coast and some East Coast shows, so we’re going to be all over America on this run. We don’t really change anything production-wise. It’s not about a stage show for us; we are what we are and it’s just basically amps, drums and guitars.

Volbeat drummer Jon Larsen (right) prepares for North American summer tour (photo by Erik Weiss)

You are what you are, but your sound is an amalgamation of everything from metal to punk to rockabilly. Do those influences creep in from individual band members or do you all share similar interests in many rock genres?

We’re four different people with four different musical tastes, so we just throw in everything we’ve got. Like you said, there’s some metal in there, some punk in there, some rockabilly, some three-chord bar rock, there’s everything. We just play the kind of music we like to play. We don’t really think too much about what it is, it’s just how we started. We didn’t really think too much about if it’s supposed to be this or that, we just said, “OK. We’re going to do this. Does it work? Yeah, it works. Does this thing work? Yeah, it works.” That’s what we did in the beginning and that’s what we’re still doing, basically.

Given the appeal that “A Warrior’s Call” has had with wrestlers, sports teams and the like, do you think Volbeat might continue writing music for specific wrestlers or other athletic entities in the future?

Right now, no. But never say, “Never.” Who knows? If something interesting pops up, why not?

For more information, go to www.volbeat.dk.

Adam Sandler’s hot for teacher in “That’s My Boy”

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Oh yeah? Well my dad's friends with Vanilla Ice. Oh, never mind (photo by Tracy Bennett)

He’s got it bad, got it bad, got it bad. He’s hot for teacher. That should be the theme song for Donny Berger, Adam Sandler‘s latest lovable loser, who father’s a child with his hot junior high school teacher (Eva Amurri) in That’s My Boy. But even though the soundtrack has at least three Van Halen songs (including “Cradle Will Rock,” which is equally appropriate), “Hot For Teacher” isn’t one of them. But with all the other jackassery that follows Donny’s endearingly dimwitted adventures, most people probably won’t even notice.

After Miss McGarricle is sent to prison for having sex with her student, a media frenzy makes Donny a pseudo-celebrity before he’s even out of high school. The 30-something Donny, however, finds himself guzzling beer, owing thousands of dollars in taxes and estranged from his son Han Solo Berger (Andy Samberg), who has changed his name to Todd Peterson and created an entirely new life for himself. But when Donny is propositioned with an offer that will eliminate his tax debts if he can arrange a reunion between his son at the women’s prison where McGarricle has been serving her sentence, he’s unable to refuse.

What better place for father/son bonding than an all-night strip club/omelette bar? (photo by Tracy Bennett)

Though money is his initial motivation, once Donny arrives unannounced (and uninvited) in a run-down Fiero with a Rush logo on the hood just days before Todd’s wedding, he and Todd gradually develop an odd bond that forces Donny to reconsider exploiting his son’s anonymity on a reality show. And although his son and bride-to-be Christina (Leighton Meester) are appalled at Donny’s immature and slovenly behavior, he has a charm that wins over the rest of their family and friends.

Before you know it, Donny’s showing Todd how to have a real bachelor party as he and his friends go to an all-night strip club/omelette bar (yep) where the featured dancer is that overweight black hooker from Borat (Luenell). Then they go ice skating with Vanilla Ice and Todd Bridges. Then Donny finds out Christina’s been engaging in acts that make his whole student/teacher thing look downright wholesome. This all, of course, ruins the wedding, which turns out to be a good thing for Todd.

White trash family reunion (photo by Tracy Bennett)

There’s a whole bunch of Sandler and Samberg’s Saturday Night Live buddies in this movie (Colin Quinn, Will Forte, Ana Gasteyer, Rachel Dratch), as well as plenty of inane comedy, toilet humor and the kind of sophomoric laughs you’d expect from a movie about a teenager living out every boy’s fantasy starring Adam Sandler. The moral of the story (if there is one) is that age ain’t nothing but a number when it comes to true love. And when Todd and Donny pay a visit to the present-day Miss McGarricle (Susan Sarandon, who flashes a vintage Hulk Hogan shirt from under her orange jumpsuit), the connection she and Donny have is still apparent with the fingering gestures they give each other against the prison’s glass partition.

That’s My Boy is retarded and inappropriate on just about every level. I happen to think that makes it pretty hilarious.

That’s My Boy. Directed by Sean Anders. Starring Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Leighton Meester. Rated R. www.thatsmyboy-movie.com.